Contents

Summary

When all of the tribes of dragons are in danger, their tribes are hopeless. But with the sinister kings and queens growing stronger each minute,

every

second

counts for these young dragonets.

NOTE: This book is dedicated to Mysterygirl000, who dissapeared one day and still hasn't come back. When she does, I want her to read this.

Prologue

"Maybe they are too strong," Deep said.

"No!" Chill screeched, fury in his black eyes. "Never. We can beat them, hardhead!" Chill glanced at the SandWing cleaning her claws.

"Sandstorm, get your poison ready, because we'll attack soon."

"Well, here's the prophecy," a GeodeWing named Crevise said.

"When the destruction passes

through thy boiling gasses

that should destroy their lands.

But a dragonet stands.

He has the power,

of the tower,

of the other powerful dragonets.

Of the singing waves of blood,

and through the rock within,

over the sky palace in an egg that's white,

under the swift camp.

Over the mountians of mud,

through the sand rippled with blood,

in the dusky night skies,

there a rainforest egg lies,

next the stargazing night,

the flames know what's right.

In the stark place of death,

in the cave of the bats.

The dragonets will correct

and also protect

the land of Pyrrhia

from the everlasting darkness."

"Sure they would, if only they were strong enough," a SkyWing said.

"Black Sky, what's the status?" Chill froze the SkyWing with his ice breath. But before Black Sky could say anything, "Activate the portal?" Crevise asked.

"And then there's no more peace."

Part One: Within

Chapter One: Stargazer

Screams.

Death.

Well, many things that were dangerous and scary for one-year-old Stargazer. Stargazer was trying to get to Star, her friend, but she could not find her.

"Where are you?"

No response.

"Hello?" Stargazer spun around as the world crumbled above her. She felt as if she were a tiny ant in all the mess. But Stargazer remembered that Star was queen, so of course she was out of the unsightly and crumbling place. Uhh! I can't escape! What will I do?

Stargazer felt talons rake against her scales. Suddenly, she was lifted into the sky. A bulky dirty green shape was picking her up and taking her to the sky. At first she thought she was being saved by the dragon, but the GeodeWing named Crevise was not saving her.

He was kidnapping her.

Stargazer rather die where she was rather than die somewhere else Crevise took her. She bit Crevise's foot and he let out a screech. She plummeted to the ground. But then she took into flight. She had to get far away, where it was safe, and find Star. But what if she never did? Stargazer didn't dare to think of that, but the thought still clung to her mind. I know I will find Star. But where?

So Stargazer looked for a way Star possibly could've went, even though she didn't know she was looking the wrong way. "I must take chances," she told herself. "And find Star!"

And with that, Stargazer lifted off into the everlasting darkness, while Crevise's gaze turned right to her.

Chapter Two: Amethyst

Amethyst yelled with fright. A pillar of stone, from her tribe's temple, was falling. The logs holding it together had charred through and the entire place was coming apart. She searched for a way to help, but the small GeodeWing dragonet couldn't do anything. The queen had said to stay out of the way. Amethyst was worried, though. The biggest way to show her tribe's greatness was to have a grand temple. She pushed on a brick, shoving it back into place. A large dragon, Spark she remembered, picked her up. "Don't be out here, Amethyst. The dragons are attacking!" He scolded. To make his point a large pillar of fire suddenly hit the wall.

Spark ran with the little GeodeWing dragonet in his claws. Amethyst yelped as a black shape drew close. It swiped out at her, cutting her snout. Amethyst covered her head with her bulky wings. It flew off, fighting the GeodeWings. It might have been a DeathWing. They tend to hang around here. But it's scales were too dark and DeathWings can't breath fire. Another jet of flame hit a tree nearby. Amethyst looked out from around Spark's wings, her golden eyes filled with worry. The GeodeWing set her down. "Stay here!" he ordered, pushing her behind a pillar in a corner. Amethyst cried out, "Stay safe!" Spark nodded, and flew off. The dragonet huddled in the hiding spot, shivering with fear. If a dragon found her here, she would be a goner.

What happened to the peaceful day? She thought, not knowing just how many dragons knew exactly what she was thinking.

A dark dragon landed nearby. It scratched the smooth marble. Amethyst barely kept her scales from rattling. It sniffed the air. It smelled a GeodeWing nearby. The GeodeWing. Chill had told them to get her. He smirked. That dragon was going to be delivered to him quickly, and he would get a promotion. The prophecy called for a dragon within the rock. Now all he had to do was find it.

The dragon was prowling nearby. It had smelled her, and now he had to find her before the blasted NightWings caused it to collapse. If you knock it down, I won't be able to find her! He upturned many rocks and knocked down pillars of stone with anger. The ceiling lurched, and the NightWing lunged for a sheltered spot. It fell, crushing a few small NightWings investigating the building. The NightWing stared disdainfully at a trapped dragonet and leaped on top of the rubble. He sniffed the air, dust filling his snout and causing him to cough. Finally he picked up the scent of fear. Deep, the NightWing in question, cased his mind out and heard the quiet, scared thoughts of an injured GeodeWing dragonet. Really. She was just behind that broken pillar. He moved swiftly towards the spot and brushed away rocks. A gray dragonet with purple crystals was curled up, barely breathing. Deep picked her up. "Pitiful." He spat. If this was one of the great dragonets, then they wouldn't have to much of hard time. Might as well bring her back to Chill anyway, she has some worth. Deep took off. This GeodeWing had no future. If she was actually one of the prophecy, then they would have her chained up and used against the rest of them. If she isn't... well, those head crystals would do nicely as a necklace. He flew silently into the night, an army of black dragons following him.

Now they had one.

Chapter Three: Kel

Nothing but silence. Quite eerie, in fact. Kel walked back and forth. "Where are they? My friends should be here by now..." He looked at the ground. The polished floor reflected upon his weary face. Then, the whole room felt slightly warmer. "What's this? I feel... uncomfortably warm." The little dragonet didn't fully understand what was going on. "I hope they come soon..." He began pacing around. Suddenly, the floor he was standing on became very hot. "What?!" Kel jumped off the floor he was standing on, landing near a pillar. "Ow,ow ,ow, my feet..." Kel struggled to suppress the burning sensation from his feet. Then the floor erupted. Flames spew out, making hot pillars that nearly reached the ceiling. Kel backed himself up into a wall. "W-what's going on?" Kel frantically scrambled, trying to avoid the flaming pillars from hitting him. The polished floor was now no more than dirt and gravel.

Running faster and faster, Kel tried to look for another dragon. He ran down the hallway. No one was in the area. Kel, stricken with fear and panic, tried to get to the throne room as fast as possible. The temparture of the SeaWing palace was rising at an unbearable rate. Kel slowed down, already tired from waiting and running around. Kel took a sharp turn into a safe area to take a rest. He began taking heavy breathes so he could continue on. "Huff...huff..." Kel felt the floor rumbling. It was as if the floor was alive. Kel knew he couldn't stay there. He got up and began sprinting along the corridor, hoping to gain distance from whatever was happening. Suddenly, Kel was sent flying into a wall. He was knocked out.

About a minute later, Kel regained his conscience. "...That hurt..." Suddenly noticing that the flame pillars were still spewing out off the ground, he stood up, and began moving.With crack of a tail, Kel was knocked onto the ground. A dragon spoke up."Where do you think you're going?" He stepped on top of Kel, who let out a painful groan. "Who... are you?" The dragon kicked Kel once. "My name is Titan. Do well to remember that." Then, he slammed Kel with his tail again. The little Seawing blacked out.

Chapter Four: Starbolt

Starbolt whipped her eyes around, trying to keep order and stop the chaos. The SwiftWings everywhere were panicking, flying every which way.

The army had arrived so fast, no one had gotten info on them until now. The entire city-state was being burned, and SwiftWings were evacuating. She shivered at the thought that some SwiftWings may be too hurt or not know what to do. She took to the air, lashing at enemy dragons. The smoke was so thick they could hardly see their own claws in front of their face. Starbolt went by instinct.

Floramundi snickered sinisterly as she approached Starbolt. "Do you like revenge? Well I would sure like mine."

Starbolt reached out for her sword, grappling a solid object. She brought it out, only to find it was a rope.

Flora laughed, grabbing the rope and pulling. Starbolt pulled back, starting a tug-of-war. Flora yanked the rope, pulling Starbolt in. She fought, kicking out at Flora's snout and legs, knocking her off balance.

The dragons tumbled, tied together by the rope. Starbolt snapped herself out, flying away. She glanced back once, yep, Flora was still there.

"Haven't you had enough?" Starbolt stopped to face her. "What do you need from me?"

Floramundi glared with her piercing lime green eyes. "I was supposed to do this for my boss." She looked up, as if he were watching right now. "He knew this would be personal to me." Flora chuckled. "He was right."

Starbolt stared back at Flora, her eyes glowing. She concentrated hard, summoning her power.

As if on cue, a bolt of lightning streaked through the air and landed in front of Flora. The SwiftWing shuddered, backing away.

Flora was slightly confused, but took the challenge. She snarled, unsheathing her talons. Starbolt did the same, growling. The SwiftWings had a stare-off, circling each other.

"This truly will be the final countdown this time." Flora growled. "I will make sure of that." she lashed out, quick as lightning. Starbolt leaped over her, slashing. Flora whirled around and kicked Starbolt, sending her flying. She had no time to recover when Flora loomed over.

"I told you." Flora laughed. She dug her claws into Starbolt's scales and pressed down. "In the end, I never lose."

Chapter Five: Aiden

Aiden and Ashta ran through the dense woods, the two young twins laughing gleefully as they played their game. Ashta, the slightly lighter colored one tackled her brother. “Gotcha!” The two rolled around wrestling for several minutes.

“I can’t believe mom and dad let us go on our own today!” The bigger and more florescent male called as he broke away.

Ashta pumped her wings excitedly. “Yea, at least until our big bro gets here Aiden. We got to stay out of trouble until then.”

Aiden chuckled. “What? Do you think another cougar will try to get you like that one time? We are bigger now, and I am pretty sure we can hold our own.”

“Of course not,” Ashta said in a whisper as she reached her claws out towards her twin dramatically. “But there are always Scavengers that may come to take you away and eat you….”

Aiden laughed matter-of-factly and pushed his sister playfully. “Yea, right! You know that the others just make those things up to scare us!”

A dark shadow descended upon the two happy twins. “Now that is not always true…. I have seen many scavengers before, and I once watched one single handedly kill several dragonets your age.”

Both twins turned their happy gaze to the sky, expecting to see their older brother Ruka, but both of their jaws dropped when they saw a very large, and very scary looking (in terms of scars and muscle mass) FlameWing, who was definitely not part of their family.

Neither Ashta nor Aiden had seen another FlameWing before that was not of their family—they lived a secluded life far away from the FlameWing Island and Volcano. But this one was definitely different, and the two dragonets were curious.

Ashta stepped towards the enigmatic dragon. “Who are you? Are you a soldier? Have you ever killed anyone before?”

Aiden cautiously whispered to his twin, “Uhhh…. Ashta….”

The giant FlameWing laughed. “Something like that….” He reached forward and grabbed Ashta by the neck. “But right now I am looking for a youngling that Volca won’t really miss too much, and you just made that list. You can call me Lazode for the rest of your short life.”

The female screamed and clawed at the other dragon’s talons, but could not break free. Aiden growled and lunged at for the other dragon’s head. The bigger FlameWing backhanded the smaller one out of the air. Aiden rolled across the ground but stood back up again just as the dragon was turning to fly away. Thinking of nothing else to do, Aiden dug his super-strong claws into Lazode’s tail.

The dragon roared in rage and burst into flames, dropping Ashta in the process. Aiden fell backwards in alarm. Lazode glanced spitefully at his bleeding tail. “You have spirit kid. Too bad I will have to beat it out of you now.” He flew up to Aiden and kicked the comparatively miniscule dragon in the face. Aiden’s vision flickered as he rolled across the ground, blood now coming from his nose and mouth.

Ashta ran away screaming. “Don’t worry Aiden. I will get Ruka!”

Lazode sneered. “That is our cue to leave I guess. But don’t worry… I have much more in store for you later.”

Aiden's vision went black as his mind gave out.

Chapter Six: Spike

Spike felt a warm feeling inside. And it wasn't because he was a SandWing. He stretched his wings in the bright afternoon sun. He couldn't imagine how Star and her tribe could live in all that darkness and cold of the tunnels.

Spike sighed in satisfaction. Star.

That was why he felt so warm. Somehow, Star made him feel like he could run through the whole of IceWing territory and still feel as warm as a thousand suns.

He took flight to go nowhere in particular, shooting higher and higher towards the sun. Nothing can take away this feeling, he thought to himself.

And that was when he looked down to see part of the desert he called home almost covered entirely with blood.

He immediately flew downward to investigate, his fear as plain as the scales on his body. Just as he was about to land, a large dragon barreled into him. "What the-" was the only thing Spike could get out before the dragon ran into him again and bit his neck. Spike fought back a scream and tried to break free. His wriggling was no use, but his attacker suddenly let go. Spike quickly turned around. He noticed that the dragon was a SandWing, but was too old for Spike to recognize.

"Who are you?" Spike spat.

"Doesn't matter," he said in a bittersweet tone. "You will be seeing a whole lot of me in the next few years."

The antagonist thrusted forward to attack again, but Spike used his somewhat agility to avoid him. He used this distraction to attack with his tail, but before he delievered the blow, the attacker bit his tail and pulled Spike to the ground. Spike spluttered as his opposer dug his face into the ground, deeper and deeper. When finally the bigger male let go, Spike was left lying down, coughing out bloody sand.

"What do you want from me?" Spike finally could say.

The attacker drew his face in close, his claws digging into Spike's snout. "My name is Viper. And I want you to follow me."

"Never!"

"We'll see about that."

Viper breathed his fire around Spike, nearly singing the tips of Spike's ear. As Spike was forced to breathe the now poisonous air around him, he felt his lungs tighten and bring him closer to unconsciousness. "Fine, I will go with you," was all Spike could whisper, and he let Viper drag him away.

Chapter Seven: Soil

Soil looked to see many mountains of mud. He liked that! What is the matter with that? he thought. I know, Queen Runoff will love this! I can't wait!

He looked around and saw nothing but mountains and mud.

Until he saw a MudWing coming.

He shreiked and ran real fast.

The MudWing landed in front of his muddy face. "I am Mulch. King of the MudWings!" I already know that, Soil thought.

Mulch swatted a foot at him and turned and leaped. "AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Soil gasped but it was too late. He eventually got hit by Mulch's tail, and passed out.

"Yes," Mulch said triumphantly. "I am victorious."

Chapter Eight: Goth

Goth flew down from the ledge he had been sitting on.He landed on the cold rocky ground and started to ecolocate prey.He saw a mountain goat grazzing lazily in the grass.Yum!

He stalked the mountain goat and raised himselfs on his hind legs..."Wow! Look at that mountain goat!".The mountain goat saw Goth and ran away.Goth turned his head in the direction of the voice.

He saw a female Batwing dragonet."Frieda,do you have to ruin everything?" he asked his sister."Yup! I guess so," she replied."Let's play something!"."Ok, sure" he said.

They flew up the mountain to the very peak. Frieda landed first."This is how you play!" she said and buckled her wings. She leaped off the peak and fell."That's not playing! That's suicide!" but he jumped anyways.

Goth quikley caught up to his sister,since he weighed like a ton.Compared to his sister's runty size it looked like he would go on right past her.But just as he started passing her, Frieda laced talons with him and they fell together.

"Now open your wings!"she screamed over the wind.They opened their wings and and touched the ground lightly as if their wings were parachutes.

"How awesome was that?"asked Frieda."It was ok,"he said not wanting Frieda to know that he'd loved it."Uh-huh," she said sarcasticly."Can I ride on your back?"she asked Goth."Sure,"he replied.Frieda climbed onto Goth's back into the narrow space between his wings.

Then they heard screaming."Get off,"Goth said gruffly.Frieda slowly climbed off his back.Goth dived off the cliff to the caves and to the screams.Frieda dived after him.

Goth landed softly on his talons with Frieda right behind him."Maybe we should go to the palace,"suggested Frieda."No," said Goth.Frieda grunted in dissapointment.

They flew towards the caves instead and saw several Batwings in panic."Aaahh!Whats happening!"one yelled.They walked towards they're sleeping cave and saw there mother lying on the ground.

They both gasped as for she was not breathing.

Goth steeped into the cave and saw Bangie the Batwing with bloodstained claws.

"What is wrong-"before he could even finish his sentence, Bangie blew a cloud of black smoke to blind Frieda and threw a sack over Goth's head.

Goth screamed in the dark as he was dragged away from his family,friends,home, and everything he loved and knew.